The Opening Faceoff: The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team will faceoff against the Lake Superior State Lakers this weekend (Nov. 11-12) in a Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) home series. The two-game series gets underway this Friday (Nov. 11) at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich., and will conclude on Saturday (Nov. 12). Both contests have 7:05 p.m. (EDT) slated start times.

2011-12 Bulldog Hockey Ticket Information: Tickets for all 2011-12 Bulldog home regular-season hockey games can be purchased by contacting the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. The FSU Athletics Ticket Office's normal hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) weekdays. The ticket office will also offer extended hours until 7 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday's throughout the season and be open on hockey home game Saturday's at 12 p.m. (ET).

Single-game tickets may also be purchased by contacting Star Tickets at 1-800-585-3737 or online at Star Tickets website: www.startickets.com. Tickets are also available at all Meijer store locations in West Michigan and at the Student Services Office in the FSU Rankin Student Center.

Media Coverage: A live video and audio webcast will be available for all 2011-12 FSU men's ice hockey home games through Stretch Internet for a charge of $7.95 on FSU's Athletics Website at www. FerrisStateBulldogs.com. Live internet statistics will also be available for all Bulldog home contests with a live audio stream for all home and away games.

Stress Pucks: The first 500 fans in attendance for Friday night's game will receive a Ferris State hockey stress puck.

Silent Auction: A special silent auction featuring Detroit Red Wings memorabilia will take place this Friday (Nov. 11) night during Ferris State University's home hockey series' opener against Lake Superior State at the Ewigleben Ice Arena. Proceeds from the silent auction will be used to help provide relief for current Big Rapids High School hockey head coach Tim Blashill, Katrina Wray and her two sons, who sustained a severe fire to their home in mid-October and lost many possessions. In addition to serving as the BRHS coach, Blashill also currently works as the FSU Ice Arena's program and pro shop coordinator. For more information please click here.

Autograph Night: Select Saturday home games will feature a three-player autograph session that will take place at the end of the game on the concourse. Fans will receive a one of a kind autograph placard featuring the student-athletes scheduled to sign. This Saturday's contest against Lake Superior State will feature senior defensemen Derek Graham and Michael Trebish along with sophomore forward Cory Kane.

The Records:Ferris State is presently 8-2-0 overall and 4-2-0-(0) in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) this season. FSU is currently listed third in points among the CCHA schools after sweeping past Bowling Green State over the weekend (Nov. 4-5). The sweep was the fourth for the Bulldogs in the 2011-12 campaign. Ferris State shutout the Falcons in a 4-0 decision Friday night and posted a 5-3 victory in Saturday's contest.

Lake Superior State currently holds a 8-2-0 overall record and is 5-1-0 in conference play. Last weekend (Nov. 4-5), the Lakers split a pair of non-conference contests against Bemidji State. LSSU fell short in a 3-2 overtime loss in Friday's contest against the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) opponent before winning 2-1 on Saturday night. Their lone CCHA loss came in a 1-0 setback against Bowling Green State.

The Coaches:Ferris State - Bob Daniels (Michigan State, 1982), 20th season, 316-352-74 (.476) – (17-29-9 vs. LSSU – 8-16-5 away, 9-12-4 home and 0-1-0 neutral). Daniels has the distinction of being the all-time winningest coach in Ferris State history. He was honored as the 2002-03 CCHA Coach of the Year and the Inside College Hockey (INCH) Coach of the Year, but the crowing highlight of his coaching career was being chosen as the recipient of the 2003 Spencer Penrose Award as the ACHA's Division I National Hockey Coach of the Year. He was among three finalists for both the 2007-08 and 2009-10 CCHA Coach of the Year Awards.

Lake Superior State- Jim Roque (Lake Superior State, 1987), 6th season, 80-93-30 (.467) - (8-4-5 vs. Ferris State). Jim Roque became the ninth coach in the 42-year history of Lake Superior State hockey in June of 2005. He is the second former Laker player to take the helm of the LSSU program. Roque was a member of the LSSU coaching staff when it won the 1988 NCAA Championship, and he recruited the majority of the 1992 title team. He has played a role in all five NCAA Tournament appearances and was part of two CCHA playoff titles and two regular-season titles.

Scouting the Lakers: LSSU is currently atop the CCHA standings, and is ranked in the USCHO.com Division I Poll at the 11th spot. The Lakers are a fairly young team with 11 sophomores and seven freshman. Their upperclassmen consist of five juniors and four seniors. Lake Superior State is ranked 30th in the nation for Team Offense, averaging 2.90 goals per game. Three Lakers are currently leading the squad with nine points apiece. Junior forward Nick McParland currently leads the Lakers in goals scored with six and adds three assists in ten games played. Sophomore forward Kyle Jean has tallied five lamp-lighters with four assists. Junior defenseman Zach Trotman, who is a Boston Bruins draft pick, has tallied four goals and five assists for nine total points. Sophomore goaltender Kevin Kapalka has played in nine of the Lakers' 10 games, and currently boasts a 7-2-0 record, with a .920 save percentage and 2.10 goals against average. Sophomore netminder Kevin Murdoch's lone appearance between the pipes was in LSSU's most recent victory against Bemidji State, where he played in all 60 minutes, and made 20 saves for a .920 save percentage.

The All-Time Series: Ferris State and Lake Superior State will face off for the 120th and 121st times this weekend as they have been playing against each other since the 1980 season. The Lakers hold the 65-41-13 advantage, with a 29-21-5 road edge. In the last 30 outings, the Bulldogs are 13-11-6. Last season when FSU made the trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., they were shutout in both night's contests, which marked the only two games of the entire 2010-11 campaign in which the Bulldogs were unable to get on the scoreboard. The last time LSSU traveled to Big Rapids during the 2008-09 season, the two teams split the series.

Top Ten: The Bulldogs are currently ranked 8th in two of the primary college hockey polls. Ferris State climbed from the tenth sport to eighth in this week's U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) NCAA Division I poll with 647 votes. After being ranked tenth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll last week, the Bulldogs also rose to the number eight spot with 255 votes. FSU also moved up two spots with a ninth place ranking in the Inside College Hockey.com (INCH) poll. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs had a sixth-place national ranking in the USCHO poll which represented the program's highest spot since also being ranked sixth on Jan. 11, 2010.

The Standings: Ferris State is currently fourth in the country in team defense and is only allowing 1.70 goals per game. The Bulldogs are number eight in the country on the penalty kill as FSU has killed off 44-of-49 penalties on the year, which is a 89.8 percent success rate.

Good Weekend: Sophomore Garrett Thompson (Traverse City) had a four point weekend at Bowling Green, including a goal and two assists in Friday's game. His 2011-12 points tally is currently at six with two goals and four assists in eight games played. This matches his point output last season, playing 18 games, tallying four goals and two assists.

Twelve different Bulldogs registered points this weekend, including six student-athletes coming away with multi-point weekends.

No Place Like Home: The Bulldogs have compiled a 109-71-24 record (.581) at home since the 2000-01 campaign. FSU has reached double-figure home win totals in a season on four occasions, which includes 15 victories in the 2002-03 (15-4-1) and 2009-10 (15-3-2) campaigns.

Players of the Week: Seniors Jordie Johnston (Rosetown, Saskatchewan) and Brett Wysopal (LaGrange Park, Ill.) received CCHA Player of the Week honors. Johnston was awarded Offensive Player of the Week as he had two assists on Friday in a 4-0 win over Bowling Green. He added two goals, including the game-winner, in a 5-3 win over the Falcons on Saturday and was a +5 on the weekend. Wysopal was named Defenseman of the Week as he tallied a goal in both Friday and Saturday's contests, had a total of six blocked shots and was part of a penalty killing unit that went 10-for-12 on the weekend as the Bulldogs swept Bowling Green. Goaltender Taylor Nelson (Regina, Saskatchewan) was nabbed a CCHA Notable Performer this week, as he was between the pipes for both wins, including a 4-0 shutout Friday night and a 31-save performance on Saturday.

Co-Captains: Senior defensemen Chad Billins (Marysville) and Tommy Hill (Portage) are serving as the Bulldogs' team co-captains in the 2011-12 campaign. They are the 40th and 41st individuals in the program's history to sport the captain's 'C' on their jersey.

Lowe's Senior CLASSAward - Senior defenseman Chad Billins (Marysville) of the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team has been chosen as a candidate for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in a recent announcement. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community, and competition. The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in early February and those 10 individuals will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select the finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community and competition.

CCHA Preseason Polls: Ferris State was picked to finish ninth in the 2011-12 CCHA Coaches Preseason Poll with 50 points. The Bulldogs received 425 points in the media poll to place tied for seventh among the 11 conference teams. Points were awarded on a 12-11-10-9, etc., basis. League coaches ranked the CCHA teams, excluding their own school, in the order they predicted the regular season will end.

TV Exposure: Ferris State will be making a combined three national and regional appearances on television this season. The Bulldogs made their TV debut on Comcast Television, which showcase FSU at Michigan last week (10/27). The network will also feature FSU's home matchup against Notre Dame at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids (2/11). FS Detroit (FSD) will feature the Ferris State at Western Michigan game (2/24). Ferris Television will televise multiple home outings in the first semester including: the Miami series (10/21-22), Lake Superior State (11/11-12), Western Michigan on two occasions (12/2, 2/25) and Notre Dame (Dec. 9). The second semester scheduled is to be announced.

On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics' official web site can be found at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com. The site features information on all of FSU's varsity athletics programs including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more.